Baseball Hall of Famer’s daughter shares her father’s story

Published 2:00 am, Friday, July 1, 2011

Tears still well up in Natalie Niekro’s eyes when she speaks about her father, Joe Niekro.

Joe Niekro played baseball for the Houston Astros from 1975 until 1988 when he retired with much recognition and many records.

He retired to spend time with his children, Lance and Natalie. But in 2006, he suffered a brain aneurysm and died.

In his memory and in an effort to raise money and awareness, Natalie started the Joe Niekro Foundation. She recently shared information about the foundation as well as a new partnership with Kingwood Medical Center at the June Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

“It was Oct. 26, 2006, my father and I had talked on the phone for a couple of hours the day before as we always do. The next day, I was at work when I received a call from brother who told me my dad was in the hospital,” Natalie said to the group at the luncheon.

She boarded a plane immediately and when she arrived at the hospital, the doctors explained that her father had a ruptured brain aneurysm.

He was on life support so the Niekro family made the decision to take him off life support and donate his organs to others in need.

“I was devastated and had no clue what to do so I began to research brain aneurysms. That is when I realized how common brain aneurysms are and they are treatable,” Natalie said.

The Joe Niekro Foundation was established in 2010 and all funds raised go directly to aneurysm research, treatment and education.

Natalie has partnered with the Houston Astros for several events and now Kingwood Medical Center. The foundation is going to have support groups, fund neurological programs and provide resources.

“I have devoted my life to this foundation, to help spread the word on how we are working to make a difference. We try to let people know that aneurysms are treatable,” Natalie said. “If I can make a difference with one person, it is a chain reaction that will help others.”

The Joe Niekro Foundation partnered with Kingwood Medical Center in March during Brain Awareness Week with the national public awareness campaign titled “Wanna Get Lucky?”

“The ‘Wanna Get Lucky?’ campaign is geared toward young adults as The Joe Niekro Foundation moves forward with its mission to educate the public about brain aneurysms and prevention through early detection,” Natalie said in a press release about the special partnership. “We want young people to know they can protect their health.”

The stroke and aneurysm support group, STARS, which stands for Steps Against Recurrent Strokes, at Kingwood Medical Center will start July 20. The group will meet the third Wednesday of every month in the community room.

The foundation is also hosting a golf tournament, Putting Fore a Purpose, Sept. 16 where proceeds will benefit the Joe Niekro Foundation.

For more information about the foundation or upcoming events, log on to https://joeniekrofoundation.com.